Paintball has enjoyed a measure of commercial success for active entertainment enthusiasts. Paintball is a sport in which players compete, in teams or individually, to eliminate opponents by tagging them with capsules containing water soluble dye and gelatin shell outside (referred to as paintballs) propelled from a device called a paintball marker (commonly referred to as a paintball gun). Paintballs are composed of a non-toxic, biodegradable, water soluble polymer. The game is regularly played at a sporting level with organized competition involving worldwide leagues, tournaments, professional teams, and players. Paintball technology is also used by military forces, law enforcement, para-military and security organizations to supplement military training, as well as playing a role in riot response, and non-lethal suppression of dangerous suspects. Paintball games can be played on very hard floors in indoor fields, or outdoor fields of varying sizes. A game field is scattered with natural or artificial terrain, which players use for tactical cover. Game types in paintball vary, but can include capture the flag, elimination, ammunition limits, defending or attacking a particular point or area, or capturing objects of interest hidden in the playing area.
Paintball, however, appeals to a small segment of the active available players to those who are willing to be shot with hard pellets which explode and make a mess. Players are required to wear protective masks, and game rules are strictly enforced on a commercial field of play due to safety concerns. On the other hand, Laser tag is popular with a wide range of ages. When compared to paintball, laser tag is painless because it uses no physical projectiles, and indoor versions may be considered less physically demanding because most indoor venues prohibit running or roughhousing. Laser tag is a team or individual sport or recreational activity where players attempt to score points in direct sight typically with a laser gun aimed at another wearing an infrared-sensitive receiver. Laser tag has evolved into both indoor and outdoor styles of play, and may include simulations of combat, role play-style games, or competitive sporting events including tactical configurations and precise game goals. A commercial field of play for laser tag is also required and tightly controlled due to the expensive nature of the laser tagging equipment usually owned by the proprietor of the facility rather than personally owned by each participant.
Therefore, paint ball and laser tag are both limited to direct sight targets and tightly controlled commercial fields of play. Paintball requires bulky clothing for those sensitive to being target practice for gelatin paint capsules and laser tag requires bulky gear comprising infrared sensitive targets and processing electronics. For these reasons and more, there has been a long felt need for consumers to be able to play an active tagging game which neither involves pain, bulky clothing, messy paint and gear nor requires a line of sight tagging of an opponent on a tightly controlled commercial field of play.